“EXTRUCAD” and “NEXTRUCAD” developed by PolyDynamics INC. in Canada are known as techniques for predicting the physical properties of the resin in a single screw extruder.
The pressure distribution, the temperature distribution and the solid-phase occupancy distribution can be predicted in the axial direction of an extruder by means of the above-cited software. Similarly, “WinSSD” of Polymer Processing Institute in the United States and “REX” of Paderborn University and “EXTRUDER” of Compulast in Germany are also known as software designed to predict the physical properties of the resin in a single screw extruder.
“AKRO-CO-TWIN SCREW” is known as software developed by Akron University in the United States for twin screw extruders. With this software, the distributions of resin temperature, pressure, filling ratio, solid-phase occupancy and so on can be obtained by computations in the axial direction of a co-rotating twin screw extruder.
J. L. White et al. of Akron University also report studies on predicting the physical properties of the resin in a counter-rotating twin screw extruder (Intern. Polymer Processing, XII, 3, p. 278 (1997)).
Toyama et al. in Japan describe the development of similar software (Tomiyama, Ishibashi and Inoue; Japan Steel Works Technical Review No. 55 (2003) 32). An arithmetic technique of adding an index of dispersion and distribution as for an extruder operation simulation system is also known (see Patent Document 1 listed below).
As an arithmetic tool for co-rotating twin screw extruders, “TEX-FAN” developed by the Japan Steel Works in Japan, “TXS” developed by Polymer Processing Institute in the United States, “SIGMA” developed by Paderborn University in Germany and “LUDOVIC” developed by CEMEF in France are also well known as software similar to “AKRO-CO-TWIN SCREW”.
Experimental and logical attempts for predicting the concentration of the volatile components contained in the resin in an extruder have been made. They include the devolatilization model proposed by G. A. Latinen. (“Devolatilization of plastics”, DVI-Gesellschaft Kunstofftechinik (1980) and the attempts of Wang et al. (N. H. Wang, N. Hashimoto: Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, 33, 3 (2000)353), Yang (C. T. Tang and T. G. Smith: SPEANTEC '96 Tech. paper (1996)350) and Lindt (W. R. Foster and J. T. Lindt: Polym. Eng. Sci., 30, 11 (1990)621). Theoretical formulas for devolatilization have been proposed as techniques of predicting the devolatilization process in an extruder.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 3,712,762